Managing Relationships with Strong Emotions – Can DBT Help?

August 31, 2016

Do you sometimes feel out of control of your emotions? What about feeling as though you are pushing those close to you away, when what you really need is their love and support? Do those around you ever mention feeling as though they walk on eggshells in order to keep the peace and avoid conflict? If so, DBT might be the answer for you! Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was created to help people who struggle with their emotional reactions gain control and live happy, healthy lives.

It’s not easy to feel out of control sometimes and it is understandable that you don’t want to be feeling that way. Oftentimes, past traumatic experiences can shape how we react to the world around us and lead us to strong emotional responses. Many people can agree that controlling their emotions is a difficult thing to do when a trauma has led them to feel triggered or unsafe in their environment. DBT can help you get that power back and feel in charge of your emotions.

DBT can be utilized in individual therapy or skills can also be taught in the group setting. The modality teaches clients many skills that they can begin using right away to help process their emotions and react appropriately. DBT has four major learning objectives. The first objective, Mindfulness, helps you to live in the present moment. Reflection, meditation, and learning the states of your mind are focused on in this section. Next, DBT focuses on Interpersonal Effectiveness. This module focuses on relationships. Interpersonal effectiveness assists you in building healthy relationships, letting go of toxic ones, and finding ways to be effective in conflicts and discussions with others. After Interpersonal Effectiveness, we focus on Emotion Regulation. Learning to gain control of your emotions and manage them appropriately is key during this stage. Finally, DBT focuses on Distress Tolerance. Distress Tolerance places the focus on learning to manage crisis situations with a level head and allowing yourself to be set free from out of control emotions.

Once you learn the DBT skills, you will be on your way to reacting to your world without feeling out of control. You can choose to be seen individually for DBT, in the group setting, or both! Call today to set up an appointment, I’d be glad to help!